Otter Creek Alpine Ale - Otter Creek Brewing / Wolaver's

winomark

Missouri

2.53/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Meduim copper, slightly reddish and a miniscule light tan head. Malty aromas rule the nose. Very mild hops on the nose. Dry, grainy palate with a slight vegetal finish. Tannic mouthfeel. Dry, light and boring. Not balanced or integrated with its flavors. Didn't like this one. No need to try.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2004 15:49:25 | More by winomark

brheuer

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +8.7%

03-17-2013 21:07:31 | More by brheuer

cliff1066

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -11.7%

12-17-2012 04:28:25 | More by cliff1066

JAHMUR

Connecticut

2.5/5  rDev -32.1%

01-03-2012 04:11:03 | More by JAHMUR

AndrewMichael

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

01-01-2012 16:44:04 | More by AndrewMichael

jak

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +8.7%

12-14-2011 17:49:30 | More by jak

stockingcpl

Ohio

2.55/5  rDev -30.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Out of the bottle, this brew poured a deep copper. Kind of nice, but the head was minimal with no lacing or spiderwebbing. Several carbionation threads were observed.

Smell: Aroma body was moderately full. The smell was faintly sweet spice with citrus hints. Malt was present but overall this brew has a very Winter Warmer aroma.

Taste: Indeed, a sweetness is obviously present. Alot of caramel and spiceness tend to blur any hops. Traditional hop bitterness is very low. Perhaps there was little to no alpha acid hops utilized in this recipe. With this said, the flavor is a little lack luster.

Mouthfeel: Well, another failure for this selection. Carbonation, despite the threads, is virtually nonexistant. Not impressive at all.

Drinkability: Poor. The lack of a Winter Warmer feel and the lack of a Amber Ale taste make this brew a poor selection. Avoid if possible.

Prosit!
Nikki

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2009 19:47:09 | More by stockingcpl

changeup45

Florida

2.65/5  rDev -28%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

12/30/2004. This is the worst of the Otter Creek beers I've tried. It's geared for the cold weather so maybe I'd enjoy it a bit more if it were cold out. It pours a brown-amber color, moderate tan head and a little bit of lacing. The aroma was a malty and a brown sugary smell. Definitely malty and sugary tasting as well but not very well balanced with an aftertaste that wasn't very pleasant. Drinkable, but not much more than that.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2008 17:46:49 | More by changeup45

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.9/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Peachy colour and malt in aroma. Thin, very dry, and astringency in finish. There is a bit of hop,which doesn't carry the day, but there is also close to soapiness. Malt and fruit but not very drinkable.Perhaps I would enjoy this better if I didn't have a beer in a long while.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2008 02:29:59 | More by northyorksammy

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - darkish orange with some murkiness. A pale tan head that fades to a wispy yet somehow complete cover. Some thickness around the collar.

Aroma - a hint of raisins or some such dark fruit, a hint of alcohol along with a measure of citrus. My first impression is that of a weak or diluted barleywine style.

Taste - sweet and light roasted malt, a modest play of the dark fruitiness. Progresses to light citrus and a mellow bitterness at the end. This is kind of like a barleywine's kid brother; from the same stock just not as big and strong. I like it!

Mouthfeel - crisp stuff, average body, even a tad thin, but it works.

Drinkability - to me, this has the barleywine kind of taste in a most drinkable, lower abv package. How cool is that?

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2007 16:18:15 | More by brewdlyhooked13

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The full, frothy, and creamy tan head atop Otter Creek's Alpine Ale holds quite well and leaves some very nice walls of streaky lace about the glass as it goes; and the deep copper body beneath has a crimson cast and glows with deep orange-red highlights. The nose is clean, bright, and fresh with notes of delicately minty and mildly grassy hops atop a sweetish, caramel-soaked and bready, cake-like maltiness. It's medium-bodied, bordering on medium-full, with a decidedly dextrinous edge; and the fine-bubbled moderate carbonation then leaves it remarkably creamy and smooth across the palate. The flavor offers a dollop of sweet caramel and sugar malt upfront, laced with notes of minty (kind of cola-like) and grassy hops. A solid but understated bitterness risesand carries through into the finish as some yeasty fruitiness appears mid-palate, and spicy hops come to the forefront in the long-lasty, zesty finish. Enjoyable!

Finishes spicy

Serving type: on-tap

05-25-2007 23:28:32 | More by NeroFiddled

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appears a clear amber copper tone with a large off whit beige head that sticks around quite a bit and leaves even streaks of lacing around my chalice. Aroma has deep pine aromatics with moderate caramel malt sweetness really highlights the hops, the alpine ale really shows of some spruce like hop qualities, nice. Flavor has a great mix between assertive piney bitterness with bready caramel Christmas style malt profile still on the hoppy side of the fence vs xmas spiced out, thank god. Mouthfeel is medium bodied silky smooth with som slight prickly effervescent carbonation but flows relatively well on the palate. Drinkabiltiy is great very piney with hops give me more winter seasonals like this one yum.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2007 19:30:40 | More by WVbeergeek

Rudgers73

New York

3.2/5  rDev -13%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured from the bottle into my Hennepin glass. The beer pours a deep red with a hint of brownish color. No head after a minute or so. Clear, with almost no carbonation in sight. It smells like a watered down DIPA, or an American Red Ale with a good dose of malty goodness. A definite winter ale from the taste. I'm not really a fan of winter ales or pumpkin/spice beers. I usually categorize them in the same way. Too boring. Not enough hops, or not enough malt, too bland or too spicy. I can say, for a winter ale this one is decent: it is well-balanced, and it doesn't taste very bland. It just isn't special enough for me to set it aside from the dozens of other mediocre beers out there. I think that red ales are especially hard to find individuality. It's reddish, it has hops, it has malt. Maybe I'm just not fine tuned to them?

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2007 23:00:28 | More by Rudgers73

atsprings

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured a slightly cloudy burnt amber with a thin head that quickly diminished to a ring. Aroma was mildly fruity with some caramel malt as well. Taste has a good balance of malt and hops with a good orange fruitiness to it. It sits a little heavy on the palate for a beer of its strength, but it is still an enjoyable beer nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2007 05:41:20 | More by atsprings

alysmith4

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Delecious brew. Tried this on tap at a local pub.. was pleasantly suprised at it's fresh taste and well-balanced flavor profile. A tad sweet, but the fresh floral and citrus notes really shined. A bit of an herbal undertone as well, of possibly pine or spruce. Could drink these all night.

Serving type: on-tap

02-25-2007 19:45:02 | More by alysmith4

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This brew pours an amber-bronze color with a frothy white head. Attractive lace, and quite clear, this is a respectably attractive beer. The aroma is a well-developed presentation of pale and lightly-roasted malts. There’s some fruit, vanilla, and modest caramel smells in the forefront, mixed with a little butterscotch. Mainly, though, this is all about pale malt. Very nice. The taste is similar, with a little pine and bitter citrus-like hops for balance. The beer is moderately sweet, and certainly a malt-centric brew. There’s a very slight alcohol presence. Medium body. At times the beer has a slightly musty characteristic, and can be just a bit slick. All in all, though, this one is a keeper.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2007 19:12:27 | More by Suds

wcudwight

North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a nice crystal clear amber color with some bronze hues thrown in for good measure. 1/4 inch snow white head melts to a mear dusting. Lace only shows up in the shady spots.
Caramel and orange in the nose. The balance is interesting as neither aroma dominates the other.
The taste mirrors the smell in that it is perfectly strattling the fence. The flavor can't decide if it wants to be more hoppy or malty so it does both with out spreading itself too thin, Cloyingly sweet but with enough hop bitterness to remind you that's it's not all sugar and spice and everything nice.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied and fits the style and purpose of this beer well.
Overall a great session amber that makes me want to hit the slopes. Thanks to enola for sharing.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2007 20:25:47 | More by wcudwight

Enola

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured a nice orange with a thin head. The smell is hoppy and and piney. The taste is bitter with a deffinate hop profile. Not what I expected from this beer as it is listed as a amber ale. Mouthfeel is bitter and there is a nice hop aftertaste. Drinkable for sure. This beer is more of an ipa than anything. I could drink this beer more often.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2007 15:39:46 | More by Enola

foureyedgeek

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass, very clear amber-brown, light rising carbonation, pillowy two finger head, some decent lacing.

Aroma is sweet, caramel malts, a little slightly fruity citrus, overall kind of muted.

Taste is kind of off, I get sweet malts that contribute nicely along with a bit of a medicinal bitterness (maybe this bottle is off?). A little bit of fruitiness in the finish.

Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied.

Drinkability is ok, but I don't like this beer enough to have that many.

This is a weird one for me, Otter Creek calls this Alpine Ale, its their winter seasonal but, all in all, its just an amber ale. Nothing special, just an average amber ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2007 02:48:53 | More by foureyedgeek

HopDerek

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass

Very deep amber/red in color with 2 cm of bubbly head, slight lacing. Smells of maltiness more dominant with some caramel and a slight hop presence. Taste is better than the smell, very malty start with a little hop kick upon swallow. Very little aftertaste. Very well balanced crisp beer, better when warmed.
Not something I would race out to get, but I wouldn't turn it down either.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2006 00:47:33 | More by HopDerek

sraimondi

Connecticut

3.8/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a nice deep auburn/bronze. Very good lacing throughout. Funny enough very little aroma on this one. The taste is very interesting. Significant malt at the front end, with hops balancing things out to make for a very smooth finish and mouthfeel. Every year I look forward to this one from Otter Creek. Very sessionable. Thisyear's version seems to have a softer mouthfeel than past versions--I think a good thing. I will stock up on this one to get me through our cold/snowy New England winter.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2006 02:52:51 | More by sraimondi

tugdriver7

Maryland

3.9/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A beer of surprises. Surprise #1: Dark amber in the glass--a bit darker than expected. Malty smell with a very nice fluffy head. Surprise #2: The taste was hoppier than expected. Really a nice hop bite to it. Felt great in the mouth, with subtle carbonation, but a pleasing bitterness that helped overcome any alcohol flavor and balanced the roasted malts quite nicely. Really quite good.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2006 20:18:56 | More by tugdriver7

3.18/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz. bottle.

Very faint haze, amber in color, medium ivory colored head.

Quite hoppy aroma - pine. Malt seems secondary, caramel and butter. Alcohol peeps through.

Taste balances quite a bit more than aroma. Malt has a grainy/biscuity character which I don't find very pleasant. Hops seem to be pine resin like. Overall, it seems to be more bitter than sweet. Hop taste gets mixed up some with alcohol and the spices, leads to a very lively finish. This beer improved quite a bit as it warmed, I would strongly encourage letting it sit a bit before drinking.

Medium + in body. Medium carbonation. A slick and coating mouthfeel. Slightly drying.

Overall, OK. Not something I would seek out or turn down.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2006 15:28:56 | More by

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

crystal clear, neutral amber color; one-finger chaulky head--tight bubbled with some lasting time. Good lace for the style.

Dry malt aromas; light hop. Slightly astringent.

Malt starts the tasting, very dry. No hop presence until the swallow and then the bitterness bursts onto the palate. The aftertaste is surprisingly short lived given the freshness of the hop flavoring. Moderate body and carbonation.

A very good middle-of-the-road beer without any flaws.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2006 22:19:05 | More by smcolw

MaltyGoodness

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz. bottle

Pours a clear copper color with a small tan head that thins. Mild lacing on the glass.

Aroma of toasted caramel malts with a bitter herbal hop scent.

Caramel malt taste upfront with a light toasted nuttiness. Leads into a slight hop bitterness and herbal hop flavor.Finishes with a toasted malt taste.

Medium body and carbonation.

A nice, drinkable brew. Nothing amazing, but well rounded and an overall decent choice.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2006 00:15:00 | More by MaltyGoodness